The Saviours of the World
by OncomingBadWolf
Summary: After journey's end, 10&co all plan to head back home… but fate has other plans. It’s not long before everyone is fighting for their lives in the claws of a dalek empire. Can 10 risk loosing everyone close to him, even that blond he loves most? 10Rose
1. A Dalek Empire on Earth

_**Disclaimer** _ _: I do not own Doctor who... don't tell me you're surprised?_

_**Title** : The Saviours of the World  
_ _**Chapter Title** _ _: A Dalek Empire on Earth  
_ **  
Characters** : Ten, Rose, Donna, Jack, Martha, Mickey, Jackie, 10.5 (new Doctor – he shall be referenced as 'the New-Doctor' throughout this fic), Sarah Jane… and MAYBE Ianto, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Pete… and other characters.  
_**Pairings** _ _: 10/Rose (and maybe a bit 10.5/Rose)… and _ _**possibly** _ _ (but not 0 sure) others… def references to some cannon ones.  
_ _**Rating** _ _: K+ - May change to T  
_ _**Spoilers** _ _: Journey's End and pretty much all episodes and seasons leading to it! Also Torchwood Exit wounds and everything before it.  
_ _**Summary** _ _: Rejoicing in the successful savoir of the earth the gang all plan to head back home… but fate has other plans. And it's not long before everyone is lost in another world – a totally different one - fighting for their lives. _

_**AN** _ _: I've had this idea for ages, but haven't had the guts to put it up. Hopefully it will be well received. By the way, if anyone is interested in Beta-ing this story for me…? I think I need one for this fic, although I've never had a beta before so be prepared to take on a beta virgin, I have no idea how it works… _

* * *

Whilst everyone on earth clung for their lives to the nearest object as their planet went hurtling through space, the occupants of the Tardis worked and laughed merrily, lost in their own piloting skills. The Doctor minded them as he walked and inspected their work; all smiles, for the people who meant the most to him were there together, in the Tardis. He had never felt less lonely.

Once earth was finally back in it's rightful place in the solar system, with the moon circling it and the gravitational field just right, hugs and laughter broke out. Everyone in the Tardis pulled into a hug of celebration the first person they came into contact with. They had done it; Earth was safe, the universe was safe. All was well once again.

The Doctor beamed at them all and fingered a lever, knowing well where they were going now, just a few mere miles away; to the planet they were orbiting. He flicked a switched, pulled a lever and aimed to get them the few miles to earth in no time. Sadly, that was not to be.

The Tardis gave a sudden huge jump, throwing almost everyone, save the two Doctor's and Donna, to the floor. With another lurch the Tardis was shifted to the right and screams were audible from a few of the occupants, as the Tardis gained more 'turbulence'. The experts – the Doctor, his clone, and Donna – tried desperately to work the panel, looking for the source of the problem whist trying to regain control, but to no avail.

Another violent teeter sent each person flying again and everyone clung onto the panel, trying hold themselves up.

"Hold on!" yelled the Doctor, as he held the panel with one hand for dear life, whilst his other held Rose tight.

The shaking intensified and the noise around them grew into the sound of breaking parts and clanking metal. Each person stared around in a state of total shock as they clung to the centre panel, waiting for the earthquake like feeling to stop.

Then, as quickly as came, it did stop. The rumbling died to nothing, and the Tardis was silent. Everyone looked up at the Doctor as he let go of the centre panel, although refused to let go of Rose's shoulder.

He swallowed, "Right then… well, that was fairly new."

They stared in silence for a moment before Rose broke in, "Isn't someone gonna check where we are then?"

Seeing as Martha was the closest to the door, she was the one who nodded and turned to check outside. The New-Doctor stopped her though, holding up his hand, "Wait, it could be dangerous."

The real Doctor was staring at the screen and nodded quickly, beckoning Martha back inside. "He's right… we need to get out of here."

Rose looked at the screen the Doctor was looking at, showing the outside world. "Oh, my God," she whispered. "Where're we?"

The screen showed a city of rising skyscrapers and huge buildings expanding through the landscape. But there was more than that. A sickly sight of metal machines, flying through the air and gliding along the ground, plastered the city; it was the daleks. Hundreds of them; a dalek empire. Only it was an empire with a difference, because as the Doctor and Rose inspected further they saw cybermen amongst the metal tin cans. The cybermen were walking amongst them.

The Doctor shook his head, "Impossible." Then as he inspected even further, checking the date and place his brow furred even further, "No way, just…. Impossible."

"As if we hadn't already had enough o' them… but Doctor, where're we?" Rose asked desperately, as the others around tried to get a closer look at the screen.

The Doctor looked up at the expectant faces. Donna and the New-Doctor were still staring at the screen, understanding, but disbelieving. The Doctor shook his head exasperated. "We're on earth."

"What?" Jackie stared at the screen, along with others. "That's not earth."

The New-Doctor shook his head, "Not your earth."

"We're not in our world," Donna looked up at the two Doctor's for confirmation, although she didn't need it; she knew she was right. "The time vortex split open. We're in a totally different world."

The Doctor nodded, "But I don't understand! How did we get pulled here, switching universes is getting less impossible, and that's just not right!"

At that, Rose seemed to shy away slightly, a little guiltily at having already surpassed that boundary of impossible – perhaps, she thought suddenly, this was her fault.

"More importantly," cut in Sarah Jane rather desperately. "Can you get us back home?"

The Doctor looked up. His mouth opened on the verge of speech, yet giving none, he turned to Donna and his doppelganger for help, but they simply shrugged, giving him nothing. He sighed and spoke to his friends honestly, "I'll try."

Jack stepped forward, "You can fix it though, whatever's wrong with the Tardis...?"

The Doctor walked around the controls, his eyes on the panel, "There's nothing wrong with the Tardis."

"It's the universes," the New-Doctor put in. "We can't travel across them because we'll kill them both. It's a miracle we got to this side without them both imploding or something. Clearly someone or something brought us here somehow, and guided us here without destroying the universes, but if we try go back without that help, we'll easily destroy them both."

Donna fingered a hand to her head in thought. "Someone guided us 'ere for something. That means they might be able to guide us back. 'Course seeing as the only living things out there are daleks I'll doubt they'll wanna give us a lift back again." She bit her tongue thoughtfully, until a sudden throb sent her wincing forward in pain. She lent against the panel, concerned faces looking on.

"Donna, you okay?" asked Rose, laying a hand on her back.

The Doctor walked quickly toward her. "Donna…"

"I'm fine." Donna lifted her head up and looked at the Doctor. His gaze met hers. They both already knew what was happening. The New-Doctor watched on sadly, also understanding. Donna looked away and shook her head, "I'm alright."

"Donna…"

"I'm fine!" she snapped.

The Doctor put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "I can fix this."

Donna's eyes went wide, "You can't do – you can't wipe -"

"No!" said the Doctor quickly. "I'm not. Not all of it."

As the others watched on, slightly worried by these new, rather confusing, developments, the New-Doctor stepped forward. "I can do it."

Donna gave another lurch of pain and the Doctor grabbed her arms. He looked at the New-Doctor. "No, you can't. You're part human, and you only have one life."

"What's goin' on?" asked Mickey, as the others along with him stared with confusion.

The Doctor ignored him and placed his hands on Donna's head. She looked fearful for a moment, about to protest, but he smiled reassuringly at her and repeated, "Not all of it." She nodded and her eyes fluttered closed at the same time as the Doctor's. For a moment they stood like that with the Doctor's hands covering her head, until with a small gasp she fell limp into his arms.

"What was it?" asked Rose as he carried Donna through the Tardis, into med bay. Rose followed him, away from the others, "Doctor what was that?"

The Doctor laid down Donna on the bed and turned to face Rose. "That was the result of her becoming the Doctor-Donna… all that knowledge, a human can't take it, can't handle it… it was burning her up."

"So what you do to stop it?" asked Rose, stepping toward him and closing the space between them.

"I wiped it," he replied. "But not all of it. Just the Timelord consciousness, so she still knows where she is, what's going on… just not all the knowledge of a Timelord."

"So, she'll be alrigh'?" Rose asked, watching his face.

He hesitated for a second, then blinked twice and nodded. "Fine. She'll be fine."

Rose nodded, looking down at the floor, before glancing back up and locking his gaze in hers. They remained in eye contact for a moment, and Rose suddenly became aware that this was the first time they had been alone together, not counting Donna's limp form, in such a long time. She smiled at him, and he couldn't help but smile back. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her into a comfortable bear hug. Despite everything that had happened, he had his Rose.

"Doc – oh." Jack stood at the doorway, feeling rather as if he had interrupted something, which caused the Doctor and Rose to break apart immediately. Jack couldn't help but grin slightly mischievously, "Hope this is no interruption but Doctor... your clone seems to have a plan for our situation."

"Right," the Doctor followed Jack out of med bay into the console room.

Jack glanced back at Donna before leaving, "Will she be okay?"

"Fine, just fine," the Doctor replied briskly.

The New-Doctor looked at the Doctor as he entered and began talking furiously, "I have an idea. It's simple! If we can converge a way to fix the wall just as we leave, and just in the right time, then our universe will be safe, we can fix the Tardis up just right, and hey presto! Home before tea! …Well, after we work on the Tardis a little, and set it up right."

The Doctor's brow furred, "What about this universe?"

The New-Doctor shrugged. "They're daleks," he said as if that explained his intentions thoroughly.

"What about the other planets out there though? This universe consists of more than just a dalek empire!" the Doctor insisted, his voice rising. "We can't just destroy this universe!"

"Well, what else is there?!" yelled the New-Doctor. "Would you rather we die here?! There's no other choice!"

The Doctor shook his head furiously and stood against the control panel. "Someone brought us here…" he muttered thoughtfully. He looked at the door, "If someone brought us here, then they want something."

"'Course they do," said Rose, staring at the Doctor. "It's the daleks, they wanna kill you, that's what they want!"

The Doctor looked at Rose and for a second time their eyes locked, exchanging more unspoken words by the intensity of one another's gaze. Then the Doctor looked away and the spell was broken. He turned to the New-Doctor and said calmly, "There is another way. If we find the source of the thing that brought us here – we can use the Tardis for that – then we can go and find it." He increased his speaking pace, becoming more enthusiastic about his plan by the second. "The chances are that that thing can take us back home as well as bringing us here, so if we find the technology then _that_ will be our ticket of here!"

Mickey frowned, "But how do we know where this thing is?"

The Doctor began to walk around the Tardis, pulling lever, pressing buttons furiously in concentration. "Ah ha!" he cried suddenly. "A building in London!" he stared in wonder at the screen in front of him. "We're in London…"

"So, we have to go out there, into the huge dalek empire?" Mickey asked, with eyebrows raised.

The Doctor looked up, frowning, "_You_ lot don't have to do anything."

"We're not stayin' 'ere while you go out there onto a planet full o' daleks," said Rose, laughing at the absurdity of it.

The Doctor shook his head, "If more than just I go, they'll notice us. Now please, I know it's a concept you all aren't familiar with, but _please_ … Stay. In. The. Tardis." He drew out each word and looked around at each of them, speaking rather as if they were children. They all gave him filthy looks, but not one seemed to be in any rush to confirm that they would follow his instruction through. In fact, all seemed ready to protest.

"You're not goin' out there by yourself!" Rose was the first.

"No way! We're coming with you!" Jack was the second.

"You are _not_ getting rid of us that easy Mister," Martha added as the third.

The others, except the New-Doctor, all nodded insistently and glared the Doctor out. Sighing, the Timelord ran his hands through his hair and looked around at them all, "I can't take all of you!"

"I'm staying," said the New-Doctor quickly, fingering the controls on the Tardis. "I'll fix the Tardis up a bit. Ready for when you come back."

The Doctor eyed him suspiciously. "And you won't be doing anything else to it?" he said firmly. "If you do anything to put this universe in any danger…"

"Of course not! You _can_ trust me, you know!"

The Doctor glared at him but said nothing. After the genocide he had committed earlier that day he wasn't so sure this half human clone of his could be trusted at all.

"I'll stay," Sarah Jane told the Doctor. "Someone needs to watch out for Donna anyway. She'll be okay won't she?"

"Yes, she'll wake up soon, just… just reassure her where we are… she won't remember anything from the past few hours. She'll remember nothing since she had the Timelord consciousness…" said the Doctor.

He headed for the door at that and everyone followed. He sighed; clearly he wasn't getting rid of them any time soon. Although, looking at them all following his lead, despite the danger he was probably putting them in… the fact they were there with him… well, he could think of much worse things. He was the first to slip, as quietly and unnoticed as possible, out of the Tardis. The air was cool, and the wind light. The Tardis had landed on a small hill overlooking the dalek London out ahead, and just behind was a large forest. The Doctor turned, amazingly unseen by the Daleks flying above, and headed for the safety of the trees.

Everyone followed just behind when suddenly the Doctor stopped, staring at a place in the trees. It had just moved, he could have sworn it had. Then a shiver ran out through the bushes once again and the leaves shuffled, though there was no wind. He saw a flash of colour through them. Someone, or something, was hiding in there… waiting for them.


	2. The Runaways

_**Title** : The Saviours of the World  
_ _**Disclaimer** : I do not own Doctor who... if I did there'd a few changes, I tell ya.  
_ _**Chapter Title** : The Runaways_

_**Characters** : Ten, Rose, Donna, Jack, Martha, Mickey, Jackie, 10.5 (new Doctor – he shall be referenced as 'the New-Doctor' throughout this fic), Sarah Jane… and MAYBE Ianto, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Pete… and other characters.  
_ _**Pairings** : 10/Rose (and maybe a bit 10.5/Rose)… and **possibly** (but not sure) others… def references to some cannon ones.  
_ _**Rating** : K+ - May change to T  
_ _**Spoilers** : Journey's End and pretty much all episodes and seasons leading to it! Also Torchwood Exit wounds and everything before it.  
_ _**Summary** : Rejoicing in the successful savoir of the earth the gang all plan to head back home… but fate has other plans. And it's not long before everyone is lost in another world – a totally different one - fighting for their lives. _

_**AN** : Thank you Ana and BadWolfIsMe for the reviews. Thank you HokeyPokeyFairy, BadWolfIsMe, Dispatch Rider, TheOncomingSower, and katluvsdocwhofics for putting this story onto your story alerts. And TheOncomingShower for putting this on your fave story list. It's very much appreciated. I still need a beta… I also love reviews… Oh, and sorry for taking so long to update, but hey, it's a little longer than the other if that helps..._

* * *

_Everyone followed just behind when suddenly the Doctor stopped, staring at a place in the trees. It had just moved, he could have sworn it had. Then a shiver ran out through the bushes once again and the leaves shuffled, though there was no wind. He saw a flash of colour through them. Someone, or something, was hiding in there… waiting for them._

The Doctor put out his hand to stop those behind him going any further, his eyes fixed on the bushes in front of him. He was just considering retreating back to the Tardis when a voice came out from the trees. "Come here," it said gently. Then in a more urgent tone, "Quick, before they see you!"

The Doctor still wasn't sure, when suddenly a pale, scraped face popped out, visible through the trees. A young man of about thirty in rather ragged clothes stepped out and beckoned frantically for them to join him. The Doctor hesitated for a second, but then decided that this man looked hurt, sad, but in no way appeared dangerous. So he strode quickly toward him with the others following just behind.

"Come on, quick," said the man desperately, beckoning them all further into the trees. "You shouldn't be here."

"Sorry," said the Doctor as they entered further into the wild realms of the forest. "But who are you?"

The man stopped abruptly as they walked further into the forest and looked through the trees, left and right. Seeming satisfied, he continued, but at a slightly slower pace. He turned to meet the Doctor's gaze. "I'm Carlos," he said. He frowned at them all. Rose walked close beside the Doctor as Mickey, Jackie, Martha, and Jack followed just behind. "How can you all be here? You can't be… did you hide? Have you been hiding?" Carlos eyed the Doctor suspiciously.

"Oh no, we're actually not supposed to be here at all… we just kind of… crash landed," said the Doctor warily.

"Crash landed," Carlos managed a smirk as they walked through the trees. "How'd you manage that, the tin cans are tracking everything? They'd have noticed."

Martha frowned from behind, "Tin cans?" She smiled, "You mean the daleks?"

Carlos suddenly scowled, "Only they call themselves that. As their title! They don't deserve it… if it were up to me they wouldn't have a name at all." The Doctor couldn't help but smile at that. Carlos went on, "We – me and some others – managed to hide away from them, we're known as runaways. Those… _things_ … they've ruined everything… our whole planet, turned into an empire for the human haters. Everyone inflicted as slaves!"

The Doctor frowned at Carlos, "Slaves? The daleks" – Carlos gave him a hard glare and the Doctor quickly corrected – "I mean the… tin cans, they don't use humans as slaves. They kill them. I'm sorry, but you and your friends… chances you're the only ones left."

"No!" Carlos spat out. "We're not! I won't believe that!" He tore through the brambles and trees with his bare hand, a heavy scowl in place.

The Doctor could tell this man had been hardened by the life he had been living. That's what happened over a time of hardship though. Some were hardened, and some brought down through fear… it depended what kind of person you were. The Doctor still hadn't decided which was worse: a shell of anger, or a shell of fear. Of course, there were those who simply smiled through it all, staying optimistic through everything, keeping their chin up, and not letting it get them down. He couldn't help glancing at Rose when this thought came into his head.

"Not far, just down here," Carlos interrupted his reverie.

"So you're all in hiding," said Rose. "Forced to live in the forest… how long's it bin like this?"

Carlos shrugged, "Years… I was just a kid when it started." He snapped a thin branch from a nearby tree and began thrashing it through the leaves as they entered denser realms of trees. "They wiped out most species of animal… entire races," Carlos added bitterly. He gave some sigh of annoyance. The Doctor looked on sadly at the man.

They walked on and soon the trees around began to thin slightly. The grey sky became visible, and the path became more used. As the trees became less dense the Doctor saw a grassy clearing ahead. They came closer, Carlos brought back a final branch, and the clearing was shown to them. It was large and held more than half a dozen large, white, though rather poorly constructed, tents. Fires were made beside them and all kinds of people hovered around the flames, looking in a similar condition to Carlos. Frightened, worn eyes watched the new comers from a difference as Carlos brought them across the grass. Not one of the people smiled, they all rather looked as if they had forgotten how.

Carlos led them to the largest tent, whipping it open without a thought. It was larger than the Doctor expected, though not so much so. It appeared to be used mostly for medical purposes, with several small beds perched about. Carlos led the six new comers to a man standing by a bed holding the hand of an unconscious woman.

"Regal," Carlos addressed the man.

Regal looked up, startled. He saw Carlos with the new comers and frowned wearily, "What's this, Carl? Who are these? Bringing random wretches in Carlos… never good."

"We are right here, you know," Jackie cut in from behind Rose.

Carlos folded his arms and leaned against a nearby bed. "Newbies. Say they crashed landed here."

Regal looked at the six travellers and gave them a dubious look, "Crash landed? Here?"

The Doctor nodded, "Yes, well, sort of…" He took a breath and said thoughtfully, "We all just, kind of, fell through to here really."

Regal glared at him for a second, "Well, you can fall back. This place is full enough as it is." He looked sharply at Carlos, "And you, you are far too reckless at times. These people could be anyone!"

"I know," said Carlos aggressively. "They could be workin' for _them_ , that's why I brought them here! Know your enemy and all that!"

"Wait a minute… humans are working for the daleks?!" said the Doctor incredulously. "As slaves?"

Regal rolled his eyes, but refused to give answer. He glared at Carlos. "I can take it from here."

"Fine." Carlos stared at him, scowling for a second, before striding out of the tent.

Regal did his best to smile at the Doctor and his companions, "If you're staying then, there's a spare tent by the trees. No one likes it 'cause it's nearest to the city. But if then, you're not staying, then sod off!" he glared at them. "God knows, we got enough on our plate without you lot hovering about."

Rose frowned slightly, "But… if we were workin' for the daleks, aren't you worried we'll go tell 'em where you are?"

Regal sighed, "You ain't workin' for any daleks. I know that."

"You do?"

"Carlos is just kiddin' himself," said Regal with his arms crossed. "We know – or most of us do – that those metal cans kill! They don't mess about with hostages and slaves… Carlos just won't except it, lost too many people, to _them_ , and thinks believing they're still alive will make it true." He shook his head, "Idiot, if I ever saw one."

"I don't think he's an idiot," said Rose surely, which caused the Doctor to look round and stare at her, full of pride, as she went on in the strangers defence; not matter how rough the man had appeared. "He's just trying to be optimistic. No proof they're all dead, is there?"

"They took 'em. Proof enough for me," replied Regal.

The Doctor sighed, "Well, we'd better…" he gestured towards the exit.

"Yeah, yeah," muttered Regal. "Like I said; tent nearest the trees. You're responsible for yourselves mind."

They nodded and headed towards the exit. "Thanks," muttered Rose.

The grassy clearing was composed of several different tents littered about with a blazing fire beside each one. As the friends walked up to the white one near the trees they passed several people, who sat by the fires, staring either into the flames, or up at the Doctor and his friends as they passed. The runaway's clothes were torn and ripped, their faces thin and full of cuts; living there in the forest clearly didn't bode well on anyone. Each frightened, worn face that watched the new comers had a slight trouble in their eye, and the Doctor felt a small pang of pity to the humans. This is what the daleks had reduced them to... His pity was suddenly joined by the familiar pang of anger towards the daleks.

Their tent looked similar to others on the outside, if a little unused. And inside it was fairly similar to the earlier medical tent they had entered. There were camp beds placed about and a few bags, which they supposed contained needed supplies. It wasn't overly huge, but it was large enough to home the six of them, the Doctor supposed…although there were five beds... but then, he didn't sleep much anyway.

"Seems alright," Martha commented. "But… we don't have to be here," she looked at the Doctor. "There's enough room in the Tardis, we could find out what to do there… how to find that… _thing_ that got us here."

The Doctor shook his head. "I think," he said with a frown. "It might bode well if we gained these humans trust. Find out what's going on, what they're doing here," he grinned at them all. "Right from the horses mouth, eh. Well, when I say horses… humans."

Rose rolled her eyes, but grinned at him. Trust the doctor to compare humans to horses. "What about Donna?" she asked. "And Sarah Jane, and the… other Doctor? Will they be staying in the Tardis?"

"I think that'll be best. Not least 'cause I think might get a little confused when they see _two_ of me," said the Doctor, his eyes widening at the thought.

Jackie sighed, looking around the room and shook her head. "You know, I never liked camping," she warned the Doctor.

"Well it'll grow on you on you," the Doctor assured her, with a cheeky grin.

He went over to the corner and sat on one of the beds, picking up one of the many supply bags, as Jackie tutted in annoyance and joined Mickey rummaging through one of the other bags. As Martha went over to join them, Rose walked over to Jack, who was kneeling by a bed nearest the exit, taking a gun from his pocket and placing it under the pillow.

"Hey kid," he grinned at her.

"Hi." She sat on the bed looking at him for a moment, before saying with a small smile; "It's good to see you again Jack."

"And you," he grinned, standing up and sitting next to her.

"But…" she hesitated, biting her lip, before looking up and frowning at him. "The dalek before… it killed you. You should have died."

To her surprise he grinned all the more at that. "Ah! I have better things to do than die today. You know me…" he winked slyly.

"But… that doesn't make any sense," Rose shook her head.

Jack hesitated; he glanced at the Doctor, who was watching them from the other side of the tent. Jack looked back at Rose, before saying with a slight sigh, "Rose… I can't die."

Rose's eyes went wide, "You can't die? What? How…?"

Jack looked back at the Doctor again, and received a warning look. He swallowed and watched Rose's shocked face; she was waiting for an answer. "Why don't," he said, surprisingly gently, "we just leave that story for now."

"But -"

"Rose," called the Doctor, interrupting her protests. She whipped round, to see him beckoning her over.

"Talk to you in a bit, yeah?" she told Jack.

He nodded. Rose went over to the Doctor, and sat next to him on the bed. "Look!" he said enthusiastically, shoving an odd looking toaster under her nose. "They have portable toasters here! No bread as far as I can see, but toasters! And they don't need electricity!" he shook his head in wonder.

Rose grinned, amused, at him. She looked down at the tent floor, wondering… "Doctor?"

"Hmm," he muttered, searching around the bag distractedly.

"Did you know Jack can't die?"

"Hmm…? …Uh, oh, yes, he might have mentioned it…"

"Do you know why?" she asked.

The Doctor didn't answer… "Maybe one of the other bags has some bread," he said thoughtfully. He got up and walked towards Martha, who was busy sorting out her bed. Rose watched him go thoughtfully… she knew him, and she knew when he was trying to distract from the truth, trying to protect her from it. The truth couldn't be that bad though, could it?

Suddenly her thought were distracted as a loud, high pitched scream was heard from outside and the shouting of terrified people stung her ears…


	3. Midnight Wanderings

**Title :** The Saviours of the World

_**Title** _ _: The Saviours of the World  
_ _**Disclaimer** _ _: I do not own Doctor who. No, really, I don't! I know… you're surprised? Me too.  
_ _**Chapter Title** _ _: Midnight Wanderings._

_**Characters** _ _: Ten, Rose, Donna, Jack, Martha, Mickey, Jackie, 10.5 (new Doctor – he shall be referenced as 'the New-Doctor' throughout this fic), Sarah Jane… and MAYBE Ianto, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Pete… and other characters.  
_ _**Pairings** _ _: 10/Rose (and maybe a bit 10.5/Rose)… and _ _**possibly** _ _ (but not sure) others… def references to some cannon ones.  
_ _**Rating** _ _: K+ - May change to T  
_ _**Spoilers** _ _: Journey's End and pretty much all episodes and seasons leading to it! Also Torchwood Exit wounds and everything before it.  
_ _**Summary** _ _: Rejoicing in the successful savoir of the earth the gang all plan to head back home… but fate has other plans. And it's not long before everyone is lost in another world – a totally different one - fighting for their lives. _

_**AN** _ _: Thank you Ana, BadWolfIsMe, and _ lil sakura haruno_ for the reviews. _

_Thank you HokeyPokeyFairy, BadWolfIsMe, Dispatch Rider, TheOncomingSower, Happy Happy Punk, _ lil sakura haruno, writghtie,_ and katluvsdocwhofics for putting this story onto your story alerts. _

_And TheOncomingShower for putting this on your fave story list._

_It's muchly appreciated. I still need a beta, but not so bothered now, still though if anyone's offering… I also love reviews… _

* * *

_Suddenly her thought were distracted as a loud, high pitched scream was heard from outside, and the shouting of terrified people stung her ears…_

"What was that?" asked Martha, from her place on the bed. The Doctor frowned, striding over to the tent exit. Jack was quick to follow, careful to take his gun from under the pillow and put it back in the pocket of his long coat.

Outside was bedlam. People – it must have been almost all the runaways – were crowded around the medical tent through which the doctor and his companions had entered upon arriving. The Doctor and Jack edged closer, and the shouts became louder, higher and angry by the second. The Doctor gasped when he saw that three or four men were holding down to the ground a tired, worn looking boy in his late teens. The people milling around were screaming taunts of anger at the boy. Though oddly, the boy's face merely looked blank, and impassive, staring up at the grey sky and jeering locals.

The Doctor stared in horror at this scene. "What the hell are you doing?!" he yelled. Amazingly his voice reached beyond anyone else's, and silence issued immediately.

Everyone looked round at him. Somewhere among the crowd Regal popped out, "What does it look like?" he said, walking up to the Doctor and Jack, who stood beside him. "You don't know! You've jus' come here, you don't have a clue what this lad's done!"

"Even so…" said the Doctor, in an angry calm, his eyes blackening by the second. "No one deserves this. Whatever he's done, whatever he may do, whatever he's doing – you can't be doing much worse. So _stop it_ . _Stop it_ !"

Regal stared at the Doctor with a mixture of fear and anger. "Y – you don't know, you… he's a traitor! A bleeding traitor!"

"A traitor?" the Doctor repeated.

"That's right," the teenager said in a sickly high voice from the ground as the men held him to his knees. "I'd do it again it again too." His smile was wide and maddening. The boy was incredibly pale – white as a sheet – with jet-black hair that fell about his face. His lips were a furious red that didn't bode well against his pale cheeks at all. His eyes were a dazzling blue, yet also wide and blood shot.

"Alright, that's it," one of his restrainers muttered, and together they dragged him off into the med tent, with a jeers and angry calls following him in. The crowd began to disperse. Some followed through the tent after the teen, while others separated to their own tents, muttering all the while.

The Doctor stopped Regal before he disappeared. "Oh, just one question, won't take long…" he began, calmer.

"Yes?" Regal asked.

"Um, what was it exactly? What did he tell them?"

Regal swallowed and stood in front of the Doctor, looking him full in the face. "He was going to tell them where we are. He was going to hand us all to them. Bloody good job we caught him in time. Dirty traitor." He shook his head, disgusted and turned from the doctor, heading into the med tent.

"Wow, talk about your high security measures," muttered Jack from behind the Timelord. "How did they even know about that kid in the first place?"

"I don't know, but I don't like it," said the Doctor staring at the tent for a moment before turning to face Jack. He frowned at the handgun hanging by Jack's side. "What're you doing with that?"

Jack held it up to full length and shrugged, "Safety measure. People screaming and shouting, we have to protect ourselves Doctor." The Doctor just gave a bemused expression, rolling his eyebrows before heading back to their tent. "Wait Doctor," said Jack quickly. The Doctor sighed and turned back questioningly. "Rose…" he began, to which the Doctor smiled and nodded.

"That brilliant pink and yellow human we know," he said with a grin.

"Yeah, well she's gonna ask again... why I can't die…"

"So, don't tell her again," said the Doctor warningly, his eyes widening slightly.

"Doctor she's not just gonna forget, she's gonna wanna know why –"

The Doctor shook his head, "I can't Jack. We can't tell her."

"So, you're just gonna lie to her? Can you do that though Doctor, can you lie to Rose?" asked Jack firmly, crossing his arms as they faced one another.

"It's not lying. It's protecting," said the Doctor. "I know Rose. She finds out, that guilt will eat her up. She'll think it's her fault. Now come on." He turned and strode towards the tent by the edge of the forest, letting Jack know there was no room for further argument.

Jack gave a sigh but followed. "What happened?" asked Mickey as soon as the men entered the tent.

"Just a rouge teenager," the Doctor replied calmly. "Was going to sell them all to the daleks apparently."

"He didn't, did he?" asked Rose. She was sat on the bed in the corner, next to the odd looking toaster that lay abandoned on the floor. "He hasn't sold 'em all?"

"Nah," said the Doctor. "They got him just in time by the sound of it."

The others all gave a nod, and after questioning the Doctor and Jack for exactly what happened they went back to whatever it was they were doing.

Outside, firewood was collected and the people slowly began to retreat to their tent as night began to fall. Some staying to sit around their fire, staring into the flames as fear and anger plagued their eyes. There were few children who lived in the clearing but those that did had soon disappeared, as even as runaways, their parents – or carers, in the cases were the parents were dead – ushered them into their tents to get some shut eye.

It wasn't long before darkness had totally fallen over the forest and clearing, and the Doctor stood just outside the tent. All the runaways were now inside their own tents, not wanting to stay out in the night for too long. The Doctor sat by the tent opening, staring up at the stars and moon above. It was all so much the same, and yet so different. He knew the earth's solar system very well but in this world he couldn't help but notice a few gentle changes as he mapped out the stars above in his head. He looked at all the tents containing the runaways and couldn't help wondering; what was it that had changed in this world to make it the way it was?

His reverie of thoughts was suddenly interrupted by a soft familiar voice behind him. "There you are."

He turned to find Rose stood by the tent entrance, grinning at him. He smiled back. "Hello. Just getting some fresh air. Why aren't you sleeping?"

"Couldn't," she replied, sitting down on the grass next to him and looking ahead. "It's so different here." She shook her head, staring around at the tents scattering the land. "I've been in so many different universes… don't even know which one's home anymore…"

The Doctor watched her face as she bit her bottom lip. "Well, it's not this one… but I'll get us out of this, don't worry."

"Oh, I know you will," she told him, breaking her face into a smile for him. "You always do."

He beamed back, and put his arm around her, bringing her close, as he did he couldn't help noticing she was shivering slightly. "You're cold," he told her.

"We could get that fire goin'," she said, nodding at a muddy patch by the tent, where some twigs were nestled.

"With no wood?"

"We're right next to a forest," Rose laughed.

The Doctor looked to his right where the dark forest depths blanked his vision, a gentle breeze blowing the trees eerily. He wasn't scared, but he doubted they'd be able to see anything in there. "It's a bit dark," he said reasonably.

"We don't have to go far in," Rose replied. "Just round the edge, get enough wood for a fire. You don't want us to freeze out here all night."

The Doctor looked back a Rose curiously, relaxing his arm around her. "Aren't you planning on going to bed tonight?"

"I'm not tired… and anyway, I'd rather keep you company."

"Oh, you don't want to stay up with me all night. Not as interesting as the day, I assure you."

"I do," Rose insisted. "Come on," Rose stood up and grabbed the Doctor's hand, pulling him up with her. She began dragging him towards the forest.

"Ah, Rose, it looks a bit dangerous," said the Doctor, groaning.

"Oh, come on Doctor. Since when did you care about danger? What's the matter, you gone soft since I left?" She grinned, with tongue peeking between her teeth to let him know she was joking.

"Course not," he replied, as he followed her to the forest. "Just hate you to be scared," he teased.

Rose gave a titter of laughter, "I've seen worse than a dark forest before."

"Ah… okay."

She couldn't see in the dark, but he was grinning as their feet crunched on the twigs beneath them, with her at his side, holding his hand. They moved branches, though still sticking to the edge of the forest, the clearing as in sight as possible.

"So," began Rose after a while of a comfortable silence. "You haven't said what you've done since I've been gone. Anythin' interesting?"

"Oh, you know…" he gave a careless wave of his hand.

"Oh, come on! I've been gone a while, what have been doin'? What planets you been savin'?"

"Well, a lot, if I don't say so myself," he replied with a mischievous grin.

And he told her. As they walked around the edge of the forest, stopping now and the to pick up some wood, he told her everything that had happened since that day at Canary Walf. Or rather, he told her most things… the aliens and adventures, how he saved several planets, but only mentioning Martha or Donna now and then, as if he thought it would be uncomfortable for her.

He struggled just a little when he came to the pieces of his life since Rose left that hurt. Like the Master's death, his daughter's death… but she sensed those things hurt, and didn't pressure him at all. She was a good listener, laughing in all the right places and asking all the right questions, just like he remembered.

"Sounds like you've been having a whale of a time mostly then," she said, grinning with tongue between her teeth, as he told her of a tight spot he and Donna had avoided, before laughing immediately after about the relief of the matter.

The Doctor shrugged, "Not quite. You weren't there." He gave her a look, his eyes staring at her intently through the dark. His mouth twitched sadly.

Rose squeezed his hand reassuringly. "I am now."

* * *

_AN: Yes, I know… not much going on... but in this one, the fluff bunnies overturned the plot bunnies… _


	4. Caught

_**Title** _ _: The Saviours of the World  
_ _**Disclaimer** _ _: I do not own Doctor who… yet.  
_ _**Chapter Title** _ _: Caught_

_**Characters** _ _: Ten, Rose, Donna, Jack, Martha, Mickey, Jackie, 10.5 (new Doctor – he shall be referenced as 'the New-Doctor' throughout this fic), Sarah Jane… and MAYBE Ianto, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Pete… and other characters.  
_ _**Pairings** _ _: 10/Rose (and maybe a bit 10.5/Rose)… and _ _**possibly** _ _(but not sure) others… def references to some cannon ones.  
_ _**Rating** _ _: K+ - May change to T  
_ _**Spoilers** _ _: Journey's End and pretty much all episodes and seasons leading to it! Also Torchwood Exit wounds and everything before it.  
_ _**Summary** _ _: Rejoicing in the successful savoir of the earth the gang all plan to head back home… but fate has other plans. And it's not long before everyone is lost in another world – a totally different one - fighting for their lives._

_AN: Thank you Ana, lil sakura haruna, and BadWolfIsMe for the reviews._

__

_Thank you HokeyPokeyFairy, BadWolfIsMe, Dispatch Rider, TheOncomingSower, Happy Happy Punk, Trinix216, bunniculasama, sijkelly, _ lil sakura haruno, writghtie,_ and katluvsdocwhofics for putting this story onto your story alerts. _

_And TheOncomingShower, Happy Happy Punk, and QuiditchQueen4aday for putting this on your fave story list._

It's all much much loved!! Keep reviewing please!

_So sorry for the wait..._

* * *

They walked hand-in-hand further into the dark forest; the firewood they were supposed to be collecting mostly lying forgotten. They simply walked, and talked about the part of their lives they hadn't spent together. They got lost in one another as they listened and laughed to the other's stories.

Rose's side ached as she laughed at the Doctor's particularly funny story about an alien in the form of a dog he'd once encounted. She stopped though when she noticed the Doctor's laughter had died and his face had become visibly paler. His brow furred, "Did you hear that?"

"What?" Rose whispered.

He held up his hand and they were silent for a moment. Rose's ears pricked up, searching for what the Doctor had heard in the forest other than the whistling breeze against the trees. At first Rose noticed nothing, and then she heard it, the crunch of braches on the ground and movement of leaves on the bushes. Just through the trees ahead of them someone – _or something_ – was lurking. The doctor stood forward, putting himself between Rose and the movement in the trees as they stared ahead.

For a moment there was nothing, then out of the trees a pale, roughed teenager fell to his knees in front of them. The Doctor recognised him immediately. It was the boy who had almost sold the runaways to the daleks. He looked up at them, his red lips laced into a devilish smile. He began giggling manically, staring at them.

The Doctor gawped down at him in horror, "You?!"

The boy managed to stand up, and grinned through the laughter at them both. He grabbed a tree for support and leaned closer to the Doctor. Through hissing laughter, he whispered menacingly into the Doctor's ear, "_They are coming_ ."

"Doctor? Who is this?" Rose said, fearfully from behind.

"Remember that teenager I told about…" he nodded to the boy, and then turned to face Rose. "I don't how, but he got out, and by the sound of it he's sold off the runaways. They're coming." The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand; ignoring the boy who fell to the floor, but who's evil laughter rang in his ears, he ran with her into the clearing, calling out to everyone as loud as he could. "Get up! They're coming! Get out of here! We have to move out! Now!"

A few people began to pop their heads out from the tents, fearful and confused. Others stayed inside though. Rose let go of the Doctor's hand and rushed to wake everyone. He looked ready to protest as she split away from him. "It's okay," she said quickly, "Go wake our tent."

He did so, rushing into the tent nearest the forest, and switching on the gas lamp. Jack was already up, with gun in hand, "Doc, what's going on?"

"That boy; he's given everyone away. He got out; I've no idea how, but now the daleks are coming, _we have to go_ !" Urgently, the Doctor exhorted everyone out of the tent.

Jackie looked fearful though, her eyes searching around the tent as they exited, "But Rose…? Where's Rose?!"

"It's okay," the Doctor assured her, "She's out helping the others, now move!"

She didn't need telling twice. Quickly, they all went out onto the clearing. Chaos was rioting outside. The cybermen had arrived. The metal men marched in formation, stopping people, and deleting them. People ran into the forest, and shouted for loved ones.

The Doctor noticed that the trees to his left showed no signs of any cybermen marching in them, he quickly led the group in that direction. "This way!" he yelled to anyone who would listen. Plenty of people did; many of the runaways, Jackie, Mickey, Martha and Jack, ran to the safety of the trees away from the city. The Doctor searched the sea of people for Rose, but to his disappointment couldn't see her anywhere.

He fought the crowd, looking for her familiar blonde head, whist cursing himself for letting her out of his sight. "_Rose!_ " he yelled into the crowd. He looked; he'd now lost sight of all his friends. He just hoped to dear God they'd gotten to safety, and that there were no more cybermen or daleks in the trees where they were headed. Opposing the crowd, he ran in search of Rose through the clearing. There could be a chance she was safe behind him, in the forest with her mother and everyone, but he couldn't take that risk. He had to check.

Nearby a young boy stood crying for his mother, before a shadow of a cyberman loomed over him. It placed a hand on his shoulder. The vaults were sent through the child without warning. The child let out a penetrating scream before he fell and stayed crumpled on the floor. The Doctor took a moment to stare at that scene. There hadn't even been any warning... Then he realised with a terrible dread. These cybermen were not here to take people for 'upgrading', they were here to delete them all. They were here solely to kill.

A woman nearby was screaming, she ran to the child and a mother's bitter tears fell onto the boy's face. The same cyberman took its chance and its grip fell onto her shoulder. The metal man then stood up, and marched on for more, leaving her corpse on top of her son.

The Doctor almost cried out in horror at that, but he was already being prodded and pushed by the oncoming crowd and there was still no sign of Rose. He was finally forced to convince himself that she was safe, probably with the others. Reluctantly, he turned and followed the crowd into the forest, still searching for any familiar face.

--

Mickey had seen plenty of cybermen in his lifetime. Actually, after all the time he had spent in the parallel world shutting down cybus industries he thought he had probably seen too many of the metal men. But, even so, he had seen none quite like this.

They were ruthless and as unforgiving as ever. Not only did they give no warning before 'deleting' their prey, but it was almost as if they were searching for something – _or someone_ . They were determined nothing was about to get in the way of their search.

He had totally lost sight of the others amongst the crowd. Mickey ran through the dark forest, as others all around raced around, trying to avoid the metal men. Screams and cries took over the forest, with the robotic tone of the cybermen as they ordered people to stop before placing an iron hand on their shoulder and killing them.

Through the bubble of people and metal men, Mickey finally saw someone he recognised, Rose. He could see her through the trees nearby bending by a crying, young girl.

"Rose!" he yelled, running up to her, "We've gotta get out of here!"

"Don't you think I know that!" she turned to him as he grabbed her shoulder. She picked up the little girl and faced her, "Where's your mum, sweetheart?" Rose bit her lip and looked at Mickey, as the young girl didn't answer but simply looked around the forest, terrified, "We've gotta get her to her family."

Mickey sighed; typical Rose, putting others before herself again. They set off around the forest, and looked for any sign of anyone who might recognise the girl. People were running through the dark forest, and it seemed almost impossible to tell any faces. The dark obscured them, making it only just possible to tell cyberman from person.

Luckily for them though, the little girl had a keen eye and it wasn't long before the she let out a squeal and pointed towards a woman running towards them. The woman was in tears as she saw her daughter. As Rose handed the girl over, she received a hug of thanks from the woman in return.

"Rose, we gotta get further into the forest now," Mickey told her, grabbing her arm, to lead her away from the woman. "C'mon!"

Just as they were about to take off though Mickey felt a firm metal hand clamp around his shoulder. He turned, and to his horror found himself staring into the dark orbs of a cyberman.

"_Mickey!!_ " Rose screamed. She managed to pull him sharply away from the clasp they turned to run, only to be met by three more cybermen, blank eyes staring at them and metal feet clamping towards them. They were surrounded. They looked around, this section of the forest was empty, the runaways had gone further into the denser reaches. Rose looked around frantically for a gap but could see none. They were truly trapped.

Two of the cybermen stepped forward, hand outstretched. Rose and Mickey backed away, only to find themselves much closer to the cyberman just behind them. Rose could see no way out and as the cybermen loomed ever closer she closed her eyes; waiting for death that was sure to come any moment, whilst she thought… _he would come, he would come_ .

She waited, and he didn't come… but, apparently, neither did death. Her eyes flicked back open. The cyberman had its hand on her arm and she could see another had its hand on Mickey's. She struggled against the restraint; it was quite painful. "Let go!" she yelled.

The cyberman spoke in its robotic tone, "You are necessary. You will come to the empire for further processing."

"What?" Mickey tried to shrug it off.

"Okay," said Rose quickly, more sure than she felt. "Go on then, take us to your emperor and whatever."

"_Rose,_ " Mickey hissed at her.

"You got a better idea?" she muttered back.

Mickey didn't reply, and the cybermen shoved them forward, walking in a line in front and behind their prisoners. They walked forward, trying not to be intimidated by the metal men marching beside them.

Out of nowhere, a figure ran out from the forest and ran towards them. "Hey!" yelled Jack. The cybermen turned, distracted, as Jack sprinted forward. He grabbed Mickey and Rose, pulling them out of the way, he fired randomly at the cybermen. The shots had no effect whatsoever though. "Run!" Jack yelled at Rose and Mickey.

They turned ready to sprint into the forest, when a cyberman grabbed Mickey by the wrist. He struggled desperately against them. "If you will not surrender you will be deleted," the cyberman said robotically.

Behind them, they heard Jack scream, and turned in time to see a cyberman place its hand on Jack's shoulder and send the electric current through him, sending him dead to the floor. "Jack!" yelled Mickey in horror.

The grip tightened around his arm, and a hand grabbed Rose's wrist. "You will surrender."

"Yeah, alright!" yelled Rose.

She gave a last glance at Jack's crumpled body on the floor, before they were led forth towards the city, towards the daleks, and towards certain pain.


	5. Danger Brews

_**Title** _ _: The Saviours of the World  
_ _**Disclaimer** _ _: I own nothing.  
_ _**Chapter Title** _ _: Danger Brews _

_**Characters** _ _: Ten, Rose, Donna, Jack, Martha, Mickey, Jackie, 10.5 (new Doctor – he shall be referenced as 'the New-Doctor' throughout this fic), Sarah Jane… and MAYBE Ianto, Gwen, Owen, Tosh, Pete… and other characters.  
_ _**Pairings** _ _: 10/Rose (and maybe a bit 10.5/Rose)… and _ _**possibly** _ _(but not sure) others… def references to some cannon ones.  
_ _**Rating** _ _: K+ - May change to T  
_ _**Spoilers** _ _: Journey's End and pretty much all episodes and seasons leading to it! Also Torchwood Exit wounds and everything before it. Nothing is safe! Beware!  
_ _**Summary** _ _: Rejoicing in the successful savoir of the earth the gang all plan to head back home… but fate has other plans. And it's not long before everyone is lost in another world – a totally different one - and fighting for their lives._

_AN: Thank you Ana, lil sakura haruna, and BadWolfIsMe for the reviews._

_Thank you HokeyPokeyFairy, BadWolfIsMe, Dispatch Rider, TheOncomingSower, Happy Happy Punk, Trinix216, bunniculasama, sijkelly, lil sakura haruno, writghtie, DoctorWhoNUT, julie20007, and katluvsdocwhofics for putting this story onto your story alerts. _

_And TheOncomingShower, Happy Happy Punk, and QuiditchQueen4aday for putting this on your fave story list._

_And also thanks to my brilliant beta: QuiditchQueen4aday, thanks for all your support._

_It's all much, much loved!! Keep reviewing please!_

_And, sorry this is a little late... I was on holiday, and stuff came up. _

* * *

Aboard the Tardis, the New Doctor was tinkering quietly under the grating of the Time Machine, trying to gain a signal to follow so he could find out what exactly had brought them to this new universe. He worked quietly, listening to the hum of the ship. He frowned; not '_the' _ – 'his_', _ _**his** _ ship, he thought. Sighing, his hand went into his jacket pocket, only to be taken out again a second later after he realised the sonic screwdriver was no longer in his possession. He scowled as that fact settled in his mind. How little he was able to do now…

His head popped up from above the grating, he searched the area for life, his hair bopping on end. No one was in the console room apart from him. Sarah-Jane was in med bay waiting for Donna to wake up.

When he thought about it, it would probably be better if he were there when Donna woke, rather than someone she had never met, or rather didn't know she had met. Donna would easily recognise the New Doctor as the Timelord she had travelled with for so long, and would never guess he was a clone. This thought made the New Doctor smile; at least Donna would think he was the real thing, and wouldn't send him cautious untrusting looks like many of the others did.

Of course he knew Donna would find out eventually or rather, she would find out a bit of it, at the very least but until then … His thoughts trailed off. He would tell her the bare-minimal; it was a delicate enough situation as it was. The Timelord consciousness had been removed from her head, but it was very important that she remembered none of the time she had experienced whilst it was still there. The safest thing – the New Doctor knew – would have been to remove everything; everything she had ever experienced with the Doctor. All of it, gone from her memory.

He was very pleased his other self hadn't done that though, and he hoped it might never really come to it. He couldn't deny it was likely it may have to be done. It may have to be done at some point but it couldn't happen whilst they were stuck in a different universe for the moment though.

Blinking out of these thoughts, the New Doctor pulled himself up onto the console floor and headed off down the corridor, to the medical bay. Sarah Jane was standing by Donna with her arms folded, staring at the wall opposite with a far away look in her eyes. She didn't move when the New Doctor entered, and took no sign that she knew he had gone into the room.

"Everything alright?" the New Doctor alighted her to his presence.

Sarah-Jane looked around sharply. She relaxed when she saw him. "Oh, yes. She hasn't woken up yet."

The New Doctor nodded, walking to Donna's other side and watching her sleeping form.

"What are you going to tell her when she does wake up?" Sarah-Jane asked, watching him curiously.

"Not a lot," he admitted. "It's delicate enough as it is. I'll just tell her we're in another world, another universe, and that," he looked up at Sarah Jane, "you're a friend that hopped onboard before we got here. I'll tell we defeated a few aliens, you know the drill, but before we did they took a few of her more recent memories. That'll do for now."

"What about when the others get back though? I think she'll notice if there's two of you," Sarah Jane pointed out.

The New Doctor shrugged, "I'll hand it to the other me then. He'll think of something, no doubt." There was some certain bitterness to the last sentence that he couldn't help but add to his tone. He felt Sarah Jane cast her eyes upon him, and he frowned at her. "What? I can't tell her I have a clone running around outside – it's way too close to the truth! She might pick up on something. And her picking up on something would be bad; very, very bad."

Sarah Jane nodded, "This is all very dangerous then."

"Very."

There was a silence as they both stared at Donna, whose face remained impassive; she was not dreaming, but deeply asleep. The New Doctor looked back up at Sarah Jane, who had gone back into her deep thoughts. "What about you?" he asked quietly, "Are you okay?"

She smiled, surprised, "I'm fine. Just thinking."

"About your boy?"

"Yes," she admitted.

"He'll be okay," the New Doctor amended sincerely, though, of course, he couldn't know that.

"Yes," she said, but still appeared unsure. "I just –"

But she was interrupted suddenly by a quiet but well audible moan from the woman laid between them. Their eyes darted to her as her hand twitched and her head lifted. She was stirring awake.

--

The cybermen had all disappeared, though not before killing half of the runaways beforehand. Those that were left were all stood or sat on the dense forest floor, among the trees, faces pale and terrified.

The Doctor was becoming more anxious by the second. He had been searching for his friends for almost an hour and found no one. No Jack. No Martha. No Jackie. No Mickey. No Rose …

"Doctor!" a voice cried out to him from his left, from among the crowd.

The Doctor spun round, searching through the crowd of terrified, but immobile people for the sound. He soon saw her. Jackie ran towards him, taking his arm urgently with a look of relief plastered on her face, "Doctor!"

"Jackie," said the Doctor at once, "Finally; someone! Do you know where the others are? Have you seen Rose? Mickey? Jack? Martha?"

"No," Jackie now looked quite deflated, "I was hoping you had!"

"Well do you –"

He was interrupted by the upcoming, calling figure of Captain Jack Harkness, as he bounded up to the both of them, breathing heavily. "Doctor!" he gasped, "They've got them!"

"What? Who?! Who's got who?!" the Doctor asked, grabbing Jack's arm urgently.

"The cybermen; Rose and Mickey," he swallowed and shook his head, "The cybermen … they've got Rose and Mickey."

The Doctor paled; his face contorted in sudden horror. He felt an icy terror fill his hearts as they fell to his stomach at those words. His breath caught, "They've got Rose?"

Jack nodded grimly, "And Mickey. I saw it. They were surrounded; the cybermen said something about them being necessary, and they were forced to follow them towards the city. I tried to stop them, but … well, I ended up on the forest floor," he admitted.

Jackie stared at Jack, ashen faced. "They didn't want you, or kill you?"

"Oh, they killed me," Jack assured her.

Jackie frowned, confused, at Jack. The Doctor barely noticed, "Where'd they go?" he demanded of Jack.

"Like I said – the city," Jack pointed in the direction of the Dalek Empire, frown playing his face.

"Right," the Doctor said immediately. He began to walk in the direction Jack was pointing, through the forest, his pace fast, almost a jog.

"What?" Jack caught up to his side, "Doc, you can't just go bounding in there! They're cybermen; Daleks!"

The Doctor merely increased his speed, "Why not? I'm the one they want, that'll be the reason they took Rose and Mickey!"

"Well," Jack gritted his teeth in frustration, struggling for a good argument. "What about Martha? We can't leave her here!"

Amongst the numbing fear, the Doctor felt a twinge of guilt, realising he'd forgotten all about their medic. He turned to Jackie, who was a few meters behind the men. "Jackie, find Martha. Go back to the Tardis. Tell the others what's going on!" He turned to Jack, "You, you can either go with her or follow me, what'll it be?"

"Neither!" Jack hissed. "We're going back to the Tardis to come up with a proper plan! The other you could have found out what brought us here by now; we can follow the signal, and find Rose while we're at it!"

"We can't waste time!" the Doctor snarled back, "Rose and Mickey could be in real danger _right now!_ "

Jack groaned in frustration, "You can't help them if you don't know exactly where they are! And it's likely that the same thing that brought us here _has_ Rose and Mickey!"

The Doctor opened his mouth to argue but no words came out. His shoulders slumped, and his anger evaporated as he stared at Jack with sincere and troubled eyes, "I can't lose her again." It was barely a whisper.

"You won't," This time it was Jackie who spoke. The Doctor turned to her, surprised. She stared at him thoughtfully. Her eyes, so much like her daughter's, shone with deep honesty, as she continued, "I know you Doctor, and I know Rose. And from that I just know she'll be alright. Neither of you'll ever give up without a fight. You watch – she's a Tyler – she'll be fine."

The Doctor smiled, nodding as he sent a thoughtful pair of eyes on her. "I'll always keep my promise when it comes to your daughter, you know that don't you?"

She nodded sombrely and assured him, "I know. Now let's find Martha and go to that damn ship of yours."

--

Martha found them before they found her.

She was comforting the grieving. There were no injuries among the runaways, as the cybermen had simply killed whom they could, and those who had escaped had got away unscathed of any physical pain, so her medical skills were not needed. However, with half the runaways killed, there were many who had lost loved ones, and Martha had taken it on her to comfort those unlucky ones.

She was comforting a widow crying over her dead son and husband when she heard, before she saw, the raised voices of the Doctor and Jack. They were arguing by the sound of it. She raised her head and cast her eyes through the forest and saw them as they walked through the trees towards the city. The Doctor's pale face was illuminated by the high moon above, looking stricken, before he, Jack and Rose's mother disappeared out of view.

Martha sighed as she rose from the foot of the tree where she had been keeping an arm around the grieving woman. She looked at the widow sadly, not really able to shake the feeling that all of this was partly at the fault of the Doctor and his friends (herself included).

"I'm sorry for everything," she said softly, and had no choice but to turn and run in the direction of her friends.


End file.
